PETALING JAYA: Young Malaysians opt to work in Singapore due to the higher exchange rates. As a result, hair salons in Malaysia are facing acute shortage of manpower, says Michael Poh, president of Malaysian Hairdressing Association.

He told Sin Chew Daily each hair salon is short of an average of two to three hairstylists.

Taking his hair salon as an example, Poh said it needs nine to ten hairstylists but only has five to six while three are part-timers.

A hairstylist in Singapore can earn about S$3,000 or over RM9,000 a month.

Young hairstylists are drawn by the exchange rates and leave Malaysia to work in Singapore.

Another reason for hair salons to face shortage of manpower is the long working hours here.

Poh said the Covid-19 pandemic has offered many online employment opportunities with flexible working hours, and this emerging trend has impacted traditional sectors, including hair salons.

“One may only need to work several hours online, and the eight to ten hours of work at a hair salon is therefore very unattractive to young people,” he admitted.

Many young hairstylists either switched profession or opted to work in Singapore after the Covid-19 pandemic, he said.

Free Malaysia Today quoted the assistant secretary of the Malaysian Indian Hair Dressing Saloon Owners Association M. Meenaq Kumar as saying barber shop owners are pleading with the government to allow them hire foreign workers.

The Malaysian Indian Hair Dressing Saloon Owners Association is short of 1,600 barbers and some are forced to shut down due to lack of workers.

Poh said the ban for hair salons to hire foreign workers has a huge impact on Indian barber shops as many rely on foreign workers.

Meenaq Kumar said locals are not interested in being barbers and those who have completed their courses prefer to open their own salons instead of working for others.